The Carpetbagger Nymph Working Well on the Rogue River

Gave the Carpetbagger Nymph a little fishing workout on the Rogue River Sunday. Put it up against the Brown Forked Tail Prince Nymph in a little fish-off. The Carpetbagger won that battle by attracting a feisty, native steelhead during the waning afternoon. The Carpetbagger also won the fight with the steelhead remaining attached by not pulling out or breaking. Steelhead candy in the form of the Carpetbagger Stonefly Nymph! Don’t go to the river without one.

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Rogue River Summer Steelhead Flies

The Midnight Rainbow Carpetbagger Nymph. My all time favorite choice. An Ugly Bug varient representing a stonefly nymph.

Hot colors, Midnight Rainbow and Midnight Fire.

The Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear nymph is a good dropper fly. Always good on the Rogue River.

A nymph pattern generally called the Prince. I often fish this small nymph as the chaser fly in tadem with a Carpetbagger Stonefly Nymph. The steelhead like both, so why not present both at the same time?

Copper Herniators in size 8 & 10. Great attractors.

A classic steelhead pattern with good colors. A good wet fly for swinging.

A good attractor pattern in size 8 or 10.

A good steelhead wet fly with the right colors for Rogue River summer steelhead.

Another steelhead pattern that originated in the 1930-1940 time period was the Skunk. The popular green butt variation remains widely used today.

The Silver Hilton originated around 1950 and bears some resemblance to the Skunk. The Silver Hilton is one of my favorite flies for swinging on the Rogue.

Skunk patterns headed for the Grand Ronde and Snake Rivers.

A good lower Rogue River pattern. Originated on the Klamath River.

A good steelhead choice when the water and weather are warm on the Rogue River.

The Rogue River Special just as the Juicy Bug was often tied on a small double hook. A jungle cock eye was usually added to both sides of the wing. Cast directly downstream, they were hung in the current and twitched.

A good selection of steelhead patterns for the Rogue River.

Some of the steelhead patterns that have been popular for the Rogue River recently. With the cooling weather the trend will be to heavier, bead head fly patterns like the Carpetbagger, G.R. Hare’s Ear, and Prince Nymphs. However throughout the fall all these patterns will have their time and place.

Rogue River Summer Steelhead

A fresh, bright Rogue River summer steelhead. This one came to a Bead Head G.R. Hare’s Ear Nymph. It was fished as a dropper to a Bead Head Carpetbagger (glimmer) Stonefly Nymph.

September First! Flies Only On The Rogue River

The morning sun finally lights the water.

This wild steelhead finally fell for a Carpetbagger Nymph.

The explosive release of a wild, native Rogue River summer steelhead.

The upper Rogue River has opened for flies only for summer steelhead. Fly patterns like the Carpetbagger Stonefly, G.R. Hare’s Ear, and Brown Forked-tail Prince nymphs will work well for these fish. I tie all of mine with a heavy bead head. Traditional summer steelhead patterns like the Green-butt Skunk, Silver Hilton and Gold Demon all will swing well during September. I like to fish my wet fly patterns at low light or when the situation allows. Now also is the time to break out your more exotic steelhead and Atlantic salmon ties. One that I favor because of it’s continued success is the Grey Heron. The pattern with it’s long flowing hackles also seem to attract the Rogue cutthroat trout